Stuff UK – September 2019

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t first glance, this Acer

Chromebook’s brushed

metal finish and tapering

wedge shape mean it does a

pretty convincing impression of

a MacBook Air... although there’s

no chance of getting the receipts

for them mixed up.

While a ‘basic’ Air will set you

back the best part of £1000, you

can pick up the 14in Acer for around

a quarter of that – although we’d

recommend spending a bit extra

and bagging the one that comes

with 4GB of RAM and a Full HD

screen. The latter’s not crucial,

though it gives a boost to Netflix

binges, but the former makes all

the difference when you’ve got

loads of tabs open and you’re trying

to stream your Discover Weekly

playlist at the same time.

It runs Chrome OS, so things are

pretty lightweight anyway, with all

apps web-based and only 32GB of

storage on board. So while the Intel

Celeron N3160 processor isn’t very

impressive on paper, it’s more than

capable of keeping everyday tasks

ticking along. It also helps squeeze

as much out of the battery as

possible, so it should easily last

a whole day of lectures and still

be going when you get home.

Connectivity is limited, with just

two standard USB ports and HDMI

out, but you do get a headphone

port and Bluetooth – which is just

as well as the speakers are rubbish.

ASUS

VIVOBOOK

E200HA

If you’re really

watching your

bank balance, this

Asus can be had

for as little as

£150, although at

that price it comes

with some major

caveats: it only

gets you 2GB of

RAM and a very

budget HD screen.

from £150 /

asus.com

Acer Chromebook 14

from £250 / acer.com

O
Chromebooks tend to
be pretty stingy on the
storage. You’ll get just
32GB here, so it’s not
one for anybody looking
to stockpile photos,
videos or music.

OO
Screen quality is often
sacrificed on budget
laptops but Acer has
used IPS and anti-glare
tech for the Chromebook
14, which improves
viewing angles.

ALTERNATIVELY

A

WORK TECH